I don't know about all of you - but I'm guessing that, like me, you could use something light-hearted right about now. So I thought I would share this column* about our beloved four-legged companions. ( * NYT The Morning by Sam Sifton, 4-16-26)   Here’s to dense dogs Is your dog smart? One of mine is as dumb as a box of rocks. The other’s about 7 cents short of a dollar. (I love them both.) Yet many people, my colleague Emily Anthes reports, have dogs of exceptional intellect

This Easter, more than any other in my lifetime, has fallen in the midst of great earthly turmoil that potentially could change our lives and the world in profound and irreversible ways. The call to spiritual contemplation and action  (in the words of Ft Richard Rohr) “ is not a luxury for a few, but surely a cultural necessity"  for us all.   As I continued to reflect on the state of our world (and my own life) in light of the promise of Easter this year, I came across a cou

This week, as I have been going back and reading the resurrection stories from each of the gospel accounts in preparation for my Sunday lesson, I have been struck by something that is not always noticed and that often gets downplayed in the church. It is a plain and simple fact: there would likely be no Easter without the women.   That’s right. You might recall from last week that it was the women who were present at the cross while all the male disciples had scattered. So, t

Wow, this Sunday is Palm Sunday! How fast the Lenten season has flown by. I hope you have been enjoying our series, Meeting Jesus on the Road, as we travel along with Jesus and disciples and witness the many signs and wonders that happen along the way.   Our after-service class has been filled with rich discussion, not to mention yummy food! It has been so much fun to share a single pot of soup or chili or lentils. It has reminded me a lot of last year’s Lenten series, Meetin

Yesterday I opened up my Facebook to find my feed full of articles about the allegations of sexual violence and misconduct against the late United Farm Workers’ Union co-founder, Cesar Chavez. I would like to say I was shocked, but I fear I am becoming accustomed to these disheartening revelations about men I once considered great.   In case you missed it, the newest allegations come from Dolores Huerta, Chavez’s co-founder of the UFW, who worked very closely with him through

2026 has already seen a rash of anti-trans legislation all over the country. States like Texas, Florida, Tennessee, and most recently Kansas have passed laws that prohibit trans people from having gender designations on their driver’s licenses that match their actual gender identity and expression. In Kansas, this new law retroactively invalidated 1000s of trans people’s driver’s licenses which had been legally obtained previously.   New legislation also seeks to ban transgen

Yesterday Hindus around the world celebrated Holi, the festival of colors. This spring festival celebrates the victory of good over evil. It also marks the end of winter. I am attaching below a picture of my mom with some of her Hindu neighbors who invited her to participate in their celebration. The neighborhood I grew up in in San Jose, where my mom still lives, is very diverse, something I often miss living in Monterey. I love that her neighbors are so willing to share the

I have some good news that I would like to share with all of you. I debated about whether or not to share this, as it is somewhat personal, but you all are my beloved commUnity and I enjoy sharing my good news with you!   A few weeks ago, I had a brief episode of chest pain that sent me to the ER. They ran labs, took x-rays, and did an EKG, which was abnormal and indicated I may have had some type of cardiac event. All other indicators, however, were negative so they sent me

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the official beginning of the liturgical period of Lent. Lenten practices vary from tradition to tradition, but in Unity we embrace Lent as a time to focus on our spiritual growth. During this 46-day period, we typically adopt or go deeper into spiritual practices and disciplines such as prayer and meditation, devotional time, or even fasting or retreat. It is a time of releasing what no longer serves us (fasting) and taking on the new ideas/belie

I met with a friend the other day who is going through a lot of personal stuff – grieving, family conflicts, financial challenges and upheaval in their living situation (not to mention all that’s going on in the world). And while they are a person of deep faith, they are also, understandably, struggling with the unanswerable “whys” around all this – including “why” the loving God they know would allow all this to happen…(even as they know God isn’t responsible for any of it).